Conficker jams up developing interwebs

The infamous Conficker worm has disproportionally affected computer systems in the developing world, according to new research.

Despite high profile infection at the UK's Ministry of Defence and a series of British hospitals, to cite just a few examples, Conficker has proportionally affected systems in Africa and south America far more. Developing nations have become "malware ghettos", stats from Shadowserver suggest.

Shadowserver is part of the Conficker Working Group, an alliance of security vendors and ISPs that have banded together to fight the malware, which estimates six million Windows PCs are infected. This vast cybercrime resource has remained dormant throughout 2009, after first appearing in October 2008.

Some security watchers reckon that the hackers who created the malware were successful beyond their wildest dreams and have held off doing anything with the uber-botnet lest it bring unwelcome attention. Trend Micro, however, reckons the botnet established by Conficker has already been used to push rogue security software, an interesting theory that remains unproven. ®